9:00 - 14.3 mile / 28 minut - 9:28
Hiking on the Skyway
This scenic drive offers many opportunities for travelers to get
off the road and hike in the mountain tops for a while. Visitors
will find a number of trailheads just off the byway the most
significant of which is the Hooper Bald Trailhead. Visitors will
also be able to find Mud Gap Trailhead between Whigg Cove and
Stratton Ridge. So bring a pair of boots and take a walk in the
Beginning at 5,290, the Hooper Bald trail leads hikers through
timber with beautiful views of the forest. Hikers will pass a rock
with peculiar Spanish carvings thought to be from the early 1600's
and then pass the site of the old hunting preserve where exotic
species like the Russian Boar might be spotted. The hike is a
quarter of a mile long and ties into the Snowbird backcountry.
A new trail is available to hikers on the Cherohala Skyway now.
This loop trail is located just near a hemlock grove just before
Hooper Bald Trail. The trail skirts the edges of this dying hemlock
grove to allow visitors a walk in the woods.
9:58 - 3.5 mile / 6 minut - 10:05
Cherohala Skyway - North Carolina - end